


Stolen

by bellamie_blake



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Complete, F/M, nathaniel malick is a dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:07:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25919326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellamie_blake/pseuds/bellamie_blake
Summary: AU - College setting, no powers. Daisy is on a mission to retrieve something that was stolen from her sister, but doesn't anticipate running into someone along the way.
Relationships: Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Comments: 34
Kudos: 147





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea what to title this story. Suggestions welcome. Hopefully this story made some sense. Also I don't totally know how hacking works so don't judge the tech details please

Daisy parked her van one block over from her destination and killed the engine and lights. Opening her laptop, she entered some commands and was pleased to see her calculations were correct - she was close enough to hook onto the network of the security system for the private dorm. 

Of course Nathaniel Malick lived in these upper crust dorms. His family was the richest she’d ever known. His father would have probably bought him a mansion off campus if he’d asked for it, though Daisy suspected that might make it harder to lure women home after nights of partying. 

The dorms might as well have been mansions, though, as far as Daisy was concerned. She’d never been inside, but her roommate Jemma was dating a technology major who lived in the next building over from Malick. Fitz had told them about the security cameras, as well as describing the lounge in the basement with a full sized pool table, and the massive suites with private rooms, kitchens and bathrooms, housing a max of 2 people each. It was a far cry from the tiny closet-sized room that Daisy and Jemma lived in, with a bunk bed and communal bathroom down the hall. 

She may have been slightly jealous that Jemma got to spend some of her nights in Fitz’s fancy digs, but she was content with her situation overall. She had never needed much, and after she and her sister had been orphaned at a young age, there was a time when she didn’t think she’d even have the chance to finish high school. Living in a crowded, cramped residence hall and working on a computer science degree was a dream come true for her, literally.

She had been a little surprised to hear that there were no actual security guards that worked in these dorms, but that was to her advantage. Cameras she could take care of, no problem, but getting past a living, breathing person was a much more difficult task.

Working quickly, she implemented her custom hacks and soon had the cameras set on a loop. The private security company monitoring the building shouldn’t be expecting much movement on the feeds anyway, since it was the night before Thanksgiving and almost all the students were home for the weekend. She stowed her laptop in her bag and slung the bag over her shoulder, exiting the van.

_ I should’ve been a secret agent _ , she thought to herself as she stealthily cut into the alley between the dorms, sticking to the shadowy areas as much as possible.  _ I definitely look good in black, at least _ . She laughed silently to herself at that. She was indeed wearing black leggings and a black shirt, with her hair pulled back into a ponytail to be out of her face, but she had opted to leave the ski mask at home. Better to be able to act like a lost co-ed than to be dressed as a bank robber.

When she reached Malick’s building, she took a quick glance around her to make sure no one was watching. Fitz had told her that this dorm should be empty - as far as he could tell, Malick and his pal Garrett were the only ones staying here during the break, and they were notorious for closing down the local bar before stumbling home with a new girl for the night, especially on a holiday weekend.

Daisy slipped a small handheld device out of her pocket, and held it to the dorm’s keycard scanner. Pressing a button, the device processed for a moment and then there was a small ‘beep’ as the door unlocked. She pulled the door open and ducked inside, closing it gently behind her.

Pausing for a moment, she listened carefully, and was grateful not to hear anyone moving around. She said a silent thank you for the lights being off and staying off. In her residence hall, the harsh fluorescent lights in the hallways glared 24 hours a day. Seems the most elite students had light switches in each hallway that could actually be turned on and off, and since no one was here, most students gone home for the long weekend, the lights were off. 

She moved quietly through the darkness, remembering the directions Fitz had given her to help guide her in the right direction. Since there were only a handful of rooms in these ridiculous dorms, she quickly found herself in front of Malick’s door. 

The light flicked on above her head. “What do you think you’re doing?”

She was just holding the unlocking device up to the scanner for Malick’s room when she heard it. She froze, and then turned her head to look in the direction of the voice. She breathed a tiny sigh of relief seeing that it wasn’t Malick catching her red-handed.

A man stood not far from her, having just come around the corner from the adjoining hallway. He looked a bit older than her, tall with dark hair and suspenders over a blue button down shirt, and he looked both stern and confused. He was clearly not a sophomore like her, and seemed even too old to be a senior like Malick...could he be a professor? In a dorm at this time of night? Someone’s…dad? No, he didn’t look that old.

“Umm...just needed to get something from my friend’s room…” she tried with a fake bubbly voice, but the look on his face told her she wasn’t selling it. The hacking device in her hand was likely not helping her case. She dropped the act. “Okay fine, look. This jerk stole something from my sister, and I need it back.”

“Stole what?”

“It’s a necklace. A family heirloom. The only thing we have left of our birth mom,” her voice broke a little on the last word, but she reminded herself to be strong. She wasn’t the type to cry to try to get what she wanted - she didn’t need to. Once she set her mind on something, her skills and her drive were enough to get her where she needed to go.

She held his gaze and said in a firm voice, “I’m  _ not _ leaving here without it. Nathaniel Malick doesn’t need it, and it doesn’t belong to him.”

The man regarded her for a long moment, and Daisy had the sense of time being frozen as neither of them moved. She remembered the self defense moves her adoptive mother, May, had taught her, and felt her muscles tense in preparation for a fight. She didn’t want to hurt this guy, but she had no intention of being stopped, either.

Then he said the last thing Daisy expected.

“Okay. How can I help?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heist...from both points of view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy. I don't think I've ever written something like this before, so I'm sorry if it's not great.

“Help...you want to help me?” the girl said in disbelief, her eyes going wide.

“Yes. What do you need?” Daniel replied earnestly. He wasn’t totally sure why he was suddenly offering to help with this, but he was sure he meant it.

The girl opened her mouth, closed it again. Shook her head slightly as if to clear

“Okay...okay. Keep watch out here. Let me know if someone’s coming, if it’s not safe to come out yet. Shouldn’t be anyone, but just in case…”

He nodded once in response, and she turned back to the door and pressed the button on her device. After a moment, the door unlocked with a soft ‘beep’.

She stole one quick look back at him, and he gave her another nod, encouraging her. She gave him a small smile and a nearly imperceptible nod back, and then she slipped into the room.

Daniel paced around the hallway junction, keeping an eye on the two entrances. The building was quiet, so he also listened carefully for any sound from Malick’s room, waiting to see her reappear at any moment. Hopefully it wouldn’t take her too long and she’d be out of there quickly.

_ Malick...what a scumbag, _ he couldn’t help thinking to himself.

He always tried to give people the benefit of the doubt, and treat everyone with courtesy and respect. But this Malick guy had proven what a jerk he was, over and over in the few short months that Daniel had lived down the hall from him. He probably shouldn’t be aiding this girl in breaking into Malick’s room. But if Malick had stolen from her sister, that was wrong, and she should have her property back...right?

She was probably some kind of criminal. What kind of person had tech to break into locked rooms? Had he allowed her to go in there and rob Malick blind? Was the excuse about her sister and her mother a lie? No, she had seemed genuine when she said that. It was important, he could tell. That’s what had convinced him to aid her. But what if he had been wrong?

Without any warning, the south entrance to the building let out a ‘beep’ as a keycard was pressed against it, and swung open to admit none other than Nathaniel Malick himself, with his arm slung around the shoulder of a young woman. They were both clearly very inebriated. 

His stomach dropped - the criminal girl was still inside his room - if Malick caught her, there was no telling what he would do to her. He was well known for being petty and vengeful, and his father was extremely influential at the university. She was certain to be expelled, if not face extensive criminal charges. It wouldn’t matter that Malick had stolen something from another student - it would only matter that he could pay to get his way. 

She might very well be a liar and a criminal, but Daniel knew in his gut that no matter what, she didn’t deserve the wrath that Nathaniel Malick would rain down upon her.

The pair were heading down the hallway towards him. It would only be a few seconds before they turned the corner and Malick's door came into view.

“Oh hello, Nathaniel!” Daniel exclaimed in a voice way too loud for the situation, and the girl under Malick’s arm winced at the volume. “Am I glad to see you here tonight!”

Malick sneered at him, clearly annoyed to be distracted from his companion, and didn't break his stride. A few more steps and they would pass Daniel and turn the corner. “What are you doing wandering the hallway, old man? Shouldn't you be asleep?”

Daniel thought fast. Improvisation had never been his strong suit, but he had to do something. He stepped a little to the side, placing himself more directly in their path. “Well, that's the thing, I couldn’t sleep. I was hoping to play some billiards, but no one seemed to be around, everyone has already gone home. But you and your friend are here now! What do you guys say to a game, hmm? Should be quite fun!” He gave what he hoped was a friendly smile, still speaking much too loudly, hoping the girl could hear him. 

Stopping in front of him, Malick placing a hand on his shoulder as he regarded him seriously for a long moment. Daniel almost thought his ruse had miraculously worked, had a mental picture of the three of them playing an extremely not-fun game of pool...and then Malick laughed. “No, I don’t think so, gramps...hanging out with you doesn’t sound like a good time at all. Oh no, have you lost your cane? I do hope you can make it back to your room alright.” The last words dripped with fake concern, and then Malick gave him a tiny shove. 

Daniel managed to steady himself on the wall, and then pulled himself around to look around the corner. Malick was unlocking his door and ushering the girl inside. He gave one last look at Daniel and laughed again before entering and locking the door behind him.

_ Dick _ , Daniel thought, and then remembered the girl. He approached the door quietly and listened, bracing himself for the worst. But he didn’t hear any sounds indicating Malick had caught the intruder, or that anything immediately noticeable had been stolen.  His mind quickly flipped through the possibilities. Did she make it out okay? Could she still be locked inside, hiding in a closet or something? That wouldn't bode well for her, but there wasn’t really anything he could do to help her if that was the case. Hopefully he had given her enough time to get out.

Daniel walked as quickly as he could to the west entrance (limping a little with the effort and wishing he did have his cane, still propped up against the wall in his room) and stepped outside, scanning the surroundings, but seeing no sign of the girl. He took one lap around to the south entrance, but saw no sign of her. He hadn't really expected to. It was logical for her to escape the scene of the crime as quickly as possible.

_ Well _ , he thought to himself _ , I guess that’s that. Hope she’s okay _ .He turned to head back inside and try to get some sleep, doubting he'd ever see the girl again.

In the distance, a car engine roared to life, and the tires squealed as the driver departed in a hurry.

\-----------------------------

After slipping into Malick’s room, Daisy had immediately decided she should exit through the window. The stranger in the hallway had offered to help, but she didn’t know if he could be trusted, and for all she knew he was calling the cops to be waiting for her as she stepped back into the hallway.  _ Not gonna happen _ , she thought. 

Making quick work of her search, she had just managed to find the necklace in a box in Malick’s desk, and was thanking her lucky stars that he was too dumb to think of locking it in a safe, when she heard a voice shouting in the hallway. Shouting Malick’s name, of all things.  _ Crap! _ She had counted herself lucky too soon - why was he home so early?

Quickly stowing the necklace in a zippered pocket of her bag, she ran over to the window. She pushed the glass portion up and then lifted the screen up as well. She barely registered the fact that the man was still shouting in the hallway - something about playing pool? She didn't stop to listen as she vaulted through the window opening - the fancy dorms had huge windows, and she was so happy for that fact right now, as her whole body slipped through without any trouble - and then turned back to pull the glass back down.

As she grasped the screen to pull it back into place, she saw the door handle turn, and her eyes went wide in fear.  _ No, no, no!  _ she thought desperately. She slammed the screen down and simultaneously ducked below the window ledge. A sharp pain shot through her hand as it collided with the brick wall, but she bit back a yelp of pain and took off in a crouched run along the side of the building. As soon as she got to the corner of the building, she broke into a full run and ducked into the alley, not slowing down until she had made it back to her van, breathless. 

Gritting her teeth against the pain in her hand, she pulled her laptop out of her bag and quickly removed the security camera hacks. Then she tossed her laptop onto the passenger seat with less care than usual, jabbing her key into the ignition and driving away as quick as possible, her tires squealing a bit in the night. 

Her heart was pounding in her chest, blood rushing past her ears, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. After driving for a few minutes and putting some distance between herself and Malick, she pulled into the parking lot of the local 24-hour diner and killed her lights. Leaning back against the headrest, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.

_ Okay, maybe I’m not quite ready to be a secret agent just yet_, she decided, and a hysterical laugh escaped her at that ridiculous thought. 

A sudden fear took hold of her - the necklace. She had it, right? She had put it in her bag, right? Everything had happened so quickly...what if she had dropped it? _Oh, please please please_ , she begged silently as she grabbed her bag and unzippered the little pocket, and then breathed a sigh of relief when her fingers closed around the jewels. She carefully zipped it closed again, and focused on steadying her breathing.

After a while, Daisy felt collected enough to drive back to her residence hall. As she turned back onto the road, she remembered the strange man, his voice echoing through the hallways. He had offered to help, and she had doubted his sincerity, but then he had sounded the alarm, letting her know Malick had returned...if not for him, she would have most definitely been caught. 

Daisy was struck with an incredible sense of gratitude for the man, and she didn’t even know his name.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy heads to Thanksgiving dinner with her roommate and her sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I did not expect to write this much or go in this direction for this story. Did not expect to be writing for so many characters. I don't even know who I am right now. This chapter seemed to get away from me a bit, but I don't know, I don't hate it. 
> 
> I am realizing I've never written an AU before, and I don't know if I've written everyone's character appropriately. But, I'm going with it. I had fun writing it, and I'm looking forward to the next part, and it actually feels good to put something out that's more than just a little one-shot. So...yeah, here it is. I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Thanks for all the feedback I'm getting, comments are wonderful.

When Daisy made it back to her room a short while later, Jemma was waiting up for her, eager to make sure she was okay after her adventure. Jemma’s eyes nearly bulged right out of her head at the sight of the bruise on Daisy’s left hand.

“Daisy, my goodness, are you alright? What happened to you?” Jemma exclaimed as she immediately sprung into action, forcing Daisy to sit in her desk chair and gently examining the injury from all angles.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Everything’s okay,” Daisy replied wearily. She eyed her bed longingly, falling asleep sounded so good right now. The adrenaline of her escape had worn off and it was getting late. Her eyelids began to feel heavy.

“How did this happen? Did someone hurt you? Are you hurt anywhere else?” Jemma rattled off the questions as she determined there was no open wound on Daisy’s hand, just a nasty bruise, and turned to the mini-fridge to assemble an ice pack.

“I just slammed it on a wall. No one hurt me,” Daisy answered, wincing a little as her roommate applied the ice pack to her hand. “Jemma, I just want to sleep.”

“Nope. Look here. Follow my finger. Did you hit your head? Could you have a concussion?” Jemma held her finger up and traced it back and forth through the air, and Daisy dutifully followed with her eyes while assuring her that she had no head injury. After a few more tests, and holding the ice pack to her hand for a while longer before removing it and gently wrapping her hand with an ace bandage, Jemma felt comfortable enough allowing Daisy to get into bed, with strict instructions to ice the injury again first thing in the morning.

Daisy gratefully fell into bed and closed her eyes, beginning to drift off quickly, but not before her thoughts turned to the stranger she had met earlier that night.  _ I wonder who he was_, she thought drowsily, and then she was gone. 

The next day was Thanksgiving, and Daisy and her sister were taking Jemma with them to have dinner with their adoptive parents. After another round of fuss over her injury (which looked more bruised but hurt a little bit less this morning) and a brief standoff over who would be driving (Daisy insisted because it was her van, but Jemma would absolutely not allow it with her injury) the two of them headed off to pick up Kora at her off-campus apartment.

“Daisy, what the hell happened to your hand?” Kora asked the moment she got into the van.

“Ugh, it’s fine, everyone is being so dramatic. It’s  _ just _ a bruise.”

“Daisy, you didn’t tell her what you were doing last night, did you?” Jemma questioned.

“ _What_ did you do last night? Just tell me.”

Daisy shot a betrayed look at Jemma, but her heart really wasn’t in it. She hadn't told Kora ahead of time because she knew she'd stop her, but she would have to come clean to her sister eventually. “Alright, look, don’t be mad. And definitely  _ don’t _ repeat this to anyone. This can’t leave this van, okay? Only Jemma and Fitz know about this.” When Kora nodded her agreement, Daisy continued, “Last night, I...may have broken into Nathaniel Malick’s room and reclaimed Mom’s necklace.”

“What?! Daisy, why would you do that? You--”

“Because he's a complete and total dick, and he stole it from you first, and it doesn’t belong to him, and there was no way he was going to just give it back to you!” 

Kora said nothing for a long moment, and then spoke quietly, “You could’ve gotten in so much trouble. I can’t believe you did that for me.”

“Of course I did. You’re my sister, we have to take care of each other,” Daisy said, turning to look at Kora with a small smile. “And by the way, we are leaving the necklace at the house today. It’s too important to have anywhere else, except maybe a safe deposit box.”

Kora laughed softly. “Deal.”

Jemma, who had been respectfully quiet during this exchange, said, “Alright, now that that’s settled, are you ever going to tell us exactly what happened?”

“Yeah, details, please,” Kora demanded.

Daisy sighed and gave in, explaining about her security camera hacks and the keypad unlocker that Fitz had helped her create just before leaving for the holiday weekend. Jemma smiled fondly at the mention of her boyfriend, Daisy knew she was missing him. Being apart for a whole 4 days was tough for those two. 

“And then just as I was about to get into the room, the lights came on and this guy was there asking me what I was doing,” Daisy was telling the story animatedly now, and the other girls gasped at this unexpected turn of events.

“Oh my goodness, somebody caught you? Daisy!” Jemma seemed terrified, and Kora’s eyes were wide.

“That’s the thing...I thought I was caught, but then...I don’t know, he asked what I was doing, and I told him the truth and...he offered to help me.” It felt unreal, recalling the story now. Why did he want to help her?

“Help you? How did he help you?” Kora was on the edge of her seat - literally, leaning forward from the backseat of the van over the center console.

“I told him to stand watch in the hallway, and I didn’t think it would matter, I figured no one was really around, and I was just going to go out through the window anyway at that point,” Daisy hesitated, reluctant to tell her sister and best friend the rest, how close of a call she'd had, but she knew she had to be honest with them. “But it turned out he was actually a huge help because - ugh, okay, don’t get mad, guys - he intercepted Malick in the hall on his way back to his room, and he started talking to him really loudly, I think he was trying to let me know he was there. I booked it out the window and that’s where I slammed my hand, on the windowsill. And then I just took off, and...well, that’s it.”

Daisy looked from Jemma to Kora, both stunned into silence, and then at the same time they began shouting and scolding her for putting herself in danger. Kora whacked her on the shoulder and Jemma’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, their voices overlapping until Daisy yelled, “Okay! Okay! I get it. It was stupid and dangerous. But I’m okay, it’s okay.”

The van was quiet for several minutes after that, as everyone calmed down.

“So who was the guy?” Kora asked.

Daisy blinked, confused. “What? Who?”

“Duh!  _ The _ guy, the guy that helped you. Who was he? I mean, he did you a huge favor, right?”

“Oh...yeah, well, I didn’t get his name. Dark hair, button down shirt, seemed a little old to be living in a dorm, actually,” Daisy recalled. 

“You mean Daniel Sousa?” Jemma asked.

“You know him?”

“Well, Fitz does, of course, they live in the same dormitory complex, I remember Fitz telling me once about an older gentleman living in the next building, pre-law, perhaps? Can’t remember exactly. He said he was a nice guy, not so great with technology though - I believe Fitz said he helped him set up his printer and his laptop when he moved in.”

“Huh. Daniel Sousa,” Daisy repeated the name slowly to herself. She hadn't expected to find out who he was, had thought she'd just forget about him. Putting a name to the face made him seem more real, less imagined.

Kora leaned in further over the console, eyeing her sister’s face carefully. Daisy met her eyes warily. “What?” she demanded.

“Nothing. Just wondering if this Daniel was...good-looking?” Kora prompted, watching for her sister’s response.

Daisy huffed. “How...how would I know? I mean, I was a  _ little _ preoccupied, not really checking out the stranger who might get me thrown in jail.”

“Ummm, that’s a _yes_ ,” Jemma said gleefully, and Kora leaned back into her seat with a huge grin. “My gosh Daisy, I can’t believe you met a hot guy while you were committing a crime. Are you going to see him again?”

“Oh my god! Stop it! He wasn’t hot, and we didn’t exactly exchange numbers. I didn’t even know his name until a minute ago, remember?” 

“Mm-hmm, sure,” Kora said. “Definitely.”

Daisy looked at her sister and her roommate, both looking way too happy at this turn of events.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Daisy said forcefully, “we’re going to be at May and Phil’s house soon, and we are not telling them that I broke into someone’s dorm, so the story is that I tripped on the stairs and caught myself on my hand, alright? Alright?” The other girls nodded dutifully, still smiling. “Good. Now, let’s talk about something else.”

The conversation shifted to other topics for the rest of the drive. When they arrived at their destination, Daisy wasn’t sure her foster parents were convinced by the false story of her injury, but neither of them pressed her on it. The necklace was secured in Kora’s jewelry box upstairs, and they all shared a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. 

But Daisy kept finding her thoughts straying to the man she now knew was named Daniel Sousa. Somehow learning his name had forced him to the forefront of her mind, and she couldn’t get him out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy and Daniel meet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading everyone. This chapter took me a while to figure out, and it felt like a good place to end it, so I hope you enjoyed. I hope to write more fics for this ship in the future (and still wishing for a dang spin off).

Between crazy retail shopping on Black Friday and catching up with friends who were home for the weekend, Daisy had nearly forgotten about Daniel Sousa by the time Monday rolled around. Having no classes scheduled on Mondays, she spent the morning struggling through a paper for history, her least favorite subject. 

“Stupid required classes,” she muttered to herself as finally closed her laptop, stowing it in her bag and putting her shoes on. She headed across campus to the computer support center. One of the best parts of being a computer science major was the opportunity to work part time as tech support. It was a fairly easy gig, since fixing general computer issues posed little challenge to her and the support calls came in fairly infrequently anyway. She usually was able to catch up on some reading or programming assignments during each shift, while getting paid. What could be better?

When a new support request came in halfway through her shift, she looked up from her book to check it. The name ‘Daniel Sousa’ along with his room number and request details stared back at her from the screen.

“Holy shit,” she uttered without thinking.

“What?” her current co-worker said from the other desk. She didn’t remember if his name was Jake or James, she’d only met him once before. 

“Oh, nothing, nothing, sorry. Just a new support call. I think I’ll take it,” she replied, quickly clicking accept on the screen to print the ticket before the other guy could grab it. “I need some fresh air, you know? Cooped up for too long. I’ll be back, okay?”

James or Jake, whatever his name was, nodded but looked at her a little funny, before turning back to his own screen. She grabbed her bag plus the bag hanging on the back of the door that held various tools, wires, and adapters that were sometimes needed for tech support, and then ducked out of the door without another word.

Daisy didn’t know why she had jumped on the service call.  _ What am I doing? What am I even going to say to him? _ she thought as she walked across campus. She caught a glimpse of herself in the reflection of a window of a parked car and stopped, turning to look at herself more closely. She smoothed down her hair before realizing what she was doing.  _ Stop it, _ she mentally scolded herself.  _ You’re just going to help him with his computer. _

As she approached the building, she was suddenly struck with a fear of running into Nathaniel Malick in the hallway. Would he have any idea of what she had done last week? They didn’t technically know each other, but he did know her sister and by now he might have realized the necklace had vanished from his room. She told herself there was no evidence of her visit and to stop worrying.

At the entrance to the building, someone who was exiting held the door open for her, so instead of buzzing Daniel’s room, she slipped inside and headed down the hall towards his room, which turned out to be around the corner and down the hallway from where she’d first seen him the other night. Thankfully, there was no sign of Malick in the hallway, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Daisy knocked twice on the door. “Tech support!” she called, and waited for a response.

After a moment, the door swung open, and Daniel was standing before her with a surprised look on his face. He was wearing a similar blue button down shirt, no suspenders this time. Kora’s voice rang in her ears, asking if he was good-looking, and Daisy was struck with the thought that yes, in fact, he was very handsome.

“You again,” he said, surprised.

“But this time I'm here for a legit reason, right? You called for tech support,” she held the support ticket up as proof.

Daniel seemed unsure what to say for a moment, then he nodded and stepped aside, gesturing for her to enter. The door closed behind her as she took in her surroundings - Daniel lived in one of the single occupancy suites in the building, with a main room holding a small kitchen, a desk and a couch, and two doors that she assumed must lead to a bathroom and a bedroom. A carved wooden cane was propped up against the wall next to one of the doors. 

The main room alone was larger than Daisy’s shared room in her own dorm. Daisy was still in disbelief that a dorm room could look like this. Who was this guy that he could afford such a nice residence?

Daisy turned back to face Daniel, who was looking at her with narrowed eyes, a similar stern expression to when he had first caught her in the act last week. 

“How did you get in the building? I didn’t buzz you in...did you break in here again?”

Daisy laughed a little at that. “Um, no, no need, someone let me in as they were leaving.”

“Oh. Alright then,” Daniel’s expression softened a bit at her reasonable explanation, though he still seemed a bit wary of her, but he offered his hand for her to shake. “I’m Daniel.”

“Daisy,” she shook his hand, and ignored the voice in her head telling her that he had nice hands and a firm grip. “So what’s the problem with your computer?”

Daniel seemed to snap into professional mode at that, and explained how he was having issues with the word processing program installed on his laptop. Daisy dropped her bags and sat down at his desk, checking a few things and finally determining the best solution was removing and reinstalling the program. As she set the computer to work, she turned her head to look at Daniel, who was sitting on his couch watching her. 

“So Daniel. What’s your story?”

“My story?” he repeated, confused.

“Yeah, what’s your deal? You’re in college, living in the high society residence halls, but you’re clearly not just out of high school. Must have an interesting story to tell.”

Daniel was quiet for a moment before responding. “I was in the army for a while, until I got hit. Took a long time to recover after that. Couldn’t go back to fighting, so I decided to go back to school, become a lawyer. Since I didn’t really have anywhere to call home, my buddy Mike suggested I live on campus at least to start, and figure it out from there. He set me up with this place. A bit fancy for my tastes. I think he felt guilty that I left the field with only one leg. People always seem to feel guilty.”

Daisy felt a twinge of sadness for him as he spoke. The computer beeped, and she tore her eyes away from him to accept a few prompts and finish the installation process. Her eyes flickered to the cane again before she turned fully in the chair, facing him.

“And why did you help me? The other day? You didn’t have to do that, but you did it anyway. Why? Be honest.”

“Honest?” he repeated, and she nodded.

Daniel took a deep breath. “I’m no fan of that Malick guy, he’s a real piece of work and if he’s stealing from people, that’s not right. And it seemed like you were speaking the truth, trying to fix a problem, fix an injustice done to your family. I just hoped I wasn’t helping a criminal by mistake, with all your high-tech fancy computer gadgets.”

“I’m just good with computers, like weirdly good. I promise you, I’m not a criminal.”

“No, you don’t really seem like it. But you do seem like the type to keep running at a problem until you either solve it or run headlong into a brick wall.”

Daisy flexed her bruised hand. “Yeah, sometimes those walls are literal.” Daniel’s eyes fell on her injured hand and went wide. “It’s fine, I’m okay,” she assured him. “Just wasn’t so graceful on my exit through the window.” 

He nodded, but still seemed a bit concerned, his eyes still focused on her injury.

Daisy cleared her throat. “So, have you ever assisted someone in breaking and entering before?” she teased, having a feeling she knew the answer. 

Daniel fixed her with his stern look once more. “You really think I’m the kind of person who would do that?”

“Well, for your first time, gotta say you did a good job. Honestly, if it wasn’t for you, I’m sure things would’ve ended badly for me. Thank you,” she said sincerely.

“It was nothing, but you’re welcome, Daisy,” he replied. He was gazing directly into her eyes and she suddenly felt exposed, like he could somehow see into her soul. She forced herself to look away and turned back to his computer.

“So everything is fixed, you’re back up and running." She opened a new blank document for him, and then stood up as he came over to the computer to see.

“Wow, I can’t believe you fixed it. That is very impressive,” he said in awe as he hit a few keys, testing the program and seeing that it worked.

Daisy gathered up her bags and headed for the exit. “It’s nothing, not a problem at all. I should get back, but really, thank you again.” 

“Daisy,” Daniel called from behind her just as she reached the door, and she turned around to face him once again. He crossed the room and placed his hands on her waist, kissing her soundly.

Daisy hadn’t been expecting it but found herself kissing him back, one hand flying up to grasp his shoulder. Her body lit up at the feeling of his lips on hers, every nerve ending feeling as if it was on fire. He pulled back a little and she felt herself smiling and without thinking, she leaned in and kissed him again, and he responded passionately. Her hands moved to grip his soft hair and her mouth opened to allow his tongue to tangle with her own. A tiny moan escaped her and she thought he must have heard or felt it because his grip on her waist tightened and she found herself pressed up against the hard surface of the door. 

When they parted after a few minutes, both breathing heavily, he held her close and looked at her with a wondering expression. “Didn’t know I was going to do that,” he said.

“I’m glad you did,” she replied, and gripped the collar of his shirt to pull him in again.


End file.
